Kingston, NY is home to some of the best restaurants and bars in the country. Some are run by graduates of the nearby Culinary Institute of America.

Featured in numerous articles and publications such as The New York Times, restaurants and bars such as Boitson's and Stockade Bar have put Kingston back on the map again. Plan your next trip to Kingston, New York today.

With hiking, swimming, apple picking, wine tasting and other outdoor activities at your fingertips, Kingston NY, is your one stop destination. Kingston is centrally located to all of the best the Hudson Valley has to offer.

Kingston is home to a large number of art galleries. Kingston has many festivals in the Rondout including the Kingston Jazz Festival.

Kingston, NY is only a 1 1/2 hour drive from NYC. It's the perfect getaway for a vacation upstate filled with lots of fun activities, shopping, thrifting, restaurants and bars. If you don't have a car, there are lots of lodgings in town (www.thesaintjames.com) so book your next trip to Kingston via bus at Adirondak Trailways. The bus in NYC is located at Port Authority and drops you off in the heart of the town, Uptown Kingston.

Upstate House Spotlight on Kingston, NY: CITY OF QUIET COOL

In the fall of 2012, a young artist and a tattooist secretly began spray-painting red goats throughout Kingston’s Uptown Stockade district. Some condemned the red goats as vandalism; others lauded them as public art. Either way, the goats became something of a brand for Kingston; those same images of red goats showed up in far-off places like Brooklyn, Missouri, Miami, and even Canada, warranting a story in the New York Times.

"Two of my favorite kinds of places are coffee shops and antique stores, so you cannot believe how thrilled I was to discover a place in Upstate New York that combines the best of both. Outdated, a large space located on Wall Street in Kingston’s historic Stockade District, has been dubbed an “antique cafe” by its founders, Gabriel Constantine and Tarah Gay and combines the couple’s two passions—vintage furniture and food. “We had our first date at a flea market and the rest is history,” says Gabriel. “During the years of buying antiques and vintage around the Hudson Valley, we began dreaming up the idea for Outdated.” The result is an open but endlessly inviting space—one part shop, one part restaurant, and one part dazzling museum of curiosities. With ample seating space and a few sofas and coffee tables thrown into the mix, being at Outdated is akin to being in a living room away from home. Add in the delicious, locally-sourced food, baked goods, and coffee and you have a wonderful (and dangerous)combination. Check out the rest of the photos plus Gabriel and Tarah’s notes about the space after the jump!"

UPTOWN KINGSTON HOME FEATURED ON DESIGN SPONGE

Kingston got some great press with this feature of The Saint James Kingston on DesignSponge.com. Owners, Philippe Trinh and Julian Lesser restored their old Victorian/Tudor house into a "neighborhood gem". Read below what Design Sponge had to say about their home:

"I had never met Julian Lesser and Philippe Trinh, a New York City-based artist/designer couple, when I stayed at their house for the first time. Their home, dubbed “The Saint James,” doubles as a weekend retreat for travelers and, last winter, I had the pleasure of staying there with a few friends. Located in the middle of Kingston, New York, a charming Hudson Valley town seemingly ripped from the pages of a Normal Rockwell book, the cozy house is filled with a mixture of modern and vintage finds, rustic charm, and quiet decadence. From its lavishly appointed sitting room, outfitted in stylish hood chairs and antique pieces, to the organic vegetable garden in the back, I got the sense that transforming this house had been quite an undertaking—a labor of love and countless years of work.

It wasn’t until Philippe invited my boyfriend and I back to The Saint James for a celebratory cocktail after we, too, had become Kingston residents, that the truth behind their renovation finally came to light. To our surprise, the magic-power couple had only closed on the 1890s Victorian mere months before our stay. During just this brief period, Julian and Philippe had taken the home from a sad state of disrepair—a ragged, un-landscaped exterior, and an interior broken and desecrated by years of vandals, squatters, and weather—to a state of near-completion. For anybody who has taken on a home renovation of their own, the transformation—often wrought by the couple’s own four hands—is downright vexing. While the home is still being tweaked and updated, albeit at a slightly slower pace these days, what was once a dilapidated house amongst the area’s more stately homes is now a neighborhood gem. " —Max

MICHAEL C HALL IN KINGSTON:

If you see've Michael C Hall lurking around Kingston in the Hudson Valley in July and August, you might be asking yourself why? Michael C Hall was indeed staying in Kingston during the filming of his new film, Cold in July. He was spotted all around town from drinking tequila at Stockade Tavern, to having a bite at Duo Bistro and Yum Yum to drinking coffee at Outdated Cafe.

Michael C Hallaka Dexterwas staying at The Saint James Kingston (www.theSaintJamesNY.com), during the filming of his new. It's the fourth film this year that has been filmed in the Hudson Valley!

Michael C Hall rented out the entire property with all bedrooms and access to The Saint James' gardens and outdoor grounds for over 5+ weeks! Michael loved staying at the home and said that it was "beautifully appointed". If you want to stay in the same property that Michael C Hall stayed, click "here" to learn more about The Saint James.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: 36 HOURS IN THE HUDSON VALLEY

Only have a couple days to spend in the Hudson Valley? See what the New York TIme had to say about where to go in Kingston, dubbed the "Kingston Trio" below: